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Tuesday March 3

Steve was wicked smart. I was always amazed at how sharp he was and how quickly he could focus on what was important. I don’t know ANYONE that even comes close to how good he was at being able to do that.Don’t just read the story, read the comments too. I miss Steve.∞ Read this on The Loop

Those who develop EPUBs are aware of how similar to a Web site an EPUB is, containing, as it does, XHTML and CSS files to present the ebook’s contents. Not many know, however, that Apple makes it possible to use OS X’s built-in Web Inspector to debug EPUBs. Derrick Schultz shows how developers can enable the Web Inspector in iBooks on the Mac so they can select text in an EPUB being proofed in iBooks and see the underlying XHTML and CSS underlying that text in the Web Inspector. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Apple took back the throne as the world’s top-selling phone manufacturer in the final quarter of 2014, according to Gartner, Inc. Sales of the iPhone made up more than 20 percent of the total phone market, narrowly edging out Samsung for the first time since 2011. Apple reported its best quarter ever at the end of 2014, selling 74.8 million units. The increase is attributed to Apple’s strong ecosystem of products and the release of the…

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Apple recently announced that more than a dozen new banks and credit unions have added support for Apple Pay, adding to the 98+ banks and institutions that have come on board with the payment plan.
The new banks and institutions are as follows:
Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union
American Airlines Credit Union
Bank of Hawaii
Baxter Credit Union

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This is worth a gander.
A recent piece on How-To Geek points out the dramatic rise in malware for Mac OS X, the article highlighting a spike in spyware, adware and overall malware that comes with clicking the wrong items during an installation.
Once installed, the adware injects itself directly into your browser, analyzing your Web traffic, email and sending data back to company servers. The overall message is this: even though you’re a Mac user, there’s additional malware on the rise and it’s time to form some better habits where security is concerned. In the meantime, the Mac App Store is still secure thanks to Apple vetting what goes through there, although not all...

Sports Illustrated:Eleven-year-old Jordyn Leopold misses her dad. NHL defenseman Jordan Leopold started the season with the Blues and was traded to the Blue Jackets in November. Jordyn and the rest of her family have been living in Minnesota, so she wrote a letter to the Wild asking them to trade for her dad.Such a sweet story. And the daughter’s letter shows she knows more than a little bit about hockey.∞ Read this on The Loop

Sonos is today rolling out version 5.3 of its Sonos Controller app for iOS to introduce a few new features and a tweaked user interface.
The feature being highlighted above others in the update is easier access to controlling the app’s Rooms feature: Effortlessly move your music around your home with a more accessible ROOMS menu available by tapping the top of any screen in the Sonos app. Group and ungroup rooms from the ROOMS menu to play music in perfect synchrony throughout your home.
Also new in the update is an updated user experience for iPad users that offers new, separate views for currently playing music and discovery features:

Petapixel:A photographer and birdwatcher in London has captured a strange and rare photo that has the Internet abuzz: an image showing a weasel riding on the back of a woodpecker as it flies through the air.Perfect example of what I teach in my photography class – always be ready to shoot.∞ Read this on The Loop

Pebble today introduced the Pebble Time Steel, a steel version of its recently announced Pebble Time smartwatch. The new Steel edition has a CNC-finished 316L stainless steel case with Gunmetal Black, Silver Stainless and Gold finishes. It will ship with band options of leather or stainless steel. The device also includes a larger battery that provides an advertised ten days of battery life. The Pebble Steel Time is available to pre-order via Pebble's Kickstarter page for $249, a $50 discount off the suggested retail price of $299. Customers who ordered the Pebble Time can upgrade to the Steel edition and still keep their place in line, though the Steel version won't ship until July.

Ahead of Apple’s ‘Spring forward’ event on Monday where we expect to hear much more about the Apple Watch, more than a dozen new banks and credit unions have added support for Apple Pay. The Apple Watch will support the mobile payment service and extend Apple Pay support in stores beyond the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5s when paired. Following the addition of 17 new banks including credit unions for American Airlines and IBM today, Apple Pay is now supported by nearly 100 institutions. Here’s the list of newly added banks:
Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union...

You’d think putting three electric motors into a sportscar to generate a total of 697bhp would be pretty impressive in itself, as would a 1085bhp 5-litre V8 gas engine, but no: Koenigsegg had to combine the two. The exclusive Swedish supercar manufacturer’s new Regera hybrid delivers a total output of 1782bhp.
With all that power, it might be a little hard to hear the stereo over the engine noise and tire screeching, but Koenigsegg has fitted a CarPlay unit to the car for those times when you’re taking things a little easier …
As you’d expect from Koenigsegg, the Regera isn’t going to be cheap. They are making just 80...

Pebble clearly wasn't done with its new smartwatch announcements when it unveiled its Kickstarter for Pebble Time because now you can preorder Pebble Time Steel, too. The Steel version of Pebble Time comes with an all metal body instead of the Time's metal bezel on a plastic body, plus it sports longer batter life.

The Mac Observer Spin: Seeing people flip over Pebble Time and Pebble Steel doesn't necessarily mean the entire market has been holding out waiting for something besides the devices that are already shipping, but it does show that consumers who want certain brands are willing to buy without a second thought. That's a very good sign for Apple Watch when it goes on sale.

Late last year, accessory manufacturer ZAGG hit the market with a folding keyboard targeted at "phablets" like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus as well as the larger Samsung smartphones. The US$69.99 ZAGG Pocket Keyboard received a lot of attention at CES 2015, and for good reason.

The brilliance of the ZAGG Pocket Keyboard is in the design. Many folding keyboards have chosen to fold from the sides to the center, meaning that the keyboard usually has a space in the center to accommodate a hinge mechanism and that it's still quite wide. For example, an iWerkz folding keyboard I have (see photo below for comparison) is almost 6 x 3.5...

A week after Pebble announced a color-screen version of its popular smartwatch, the Pebble Time, it has now announced a stainless steel model: the Pebble Time Steel. The metal version is available in silver, black and … gold finishes. Wonder where they got the inspiration for a gold finish with red strap?
The Time Steel will retail at $299–a hundred bucks more than the plastic original, but still $50 less than the plastic-strap model Apple Watch. It’s available on Kickstarter for an early bird price of $250 …
Pebble claims to have boosted the 7-day battery life of the Time to ten days, at the cost of an extra...

Pebble on Tuesday announced a steel version of its upcoming Pebble Time smartwatch, as well as a new expandable accessory port called "smartstrap" that could add functions such as GPS or heart rate monitoring.

President Barack Obama last week made good on his promise to establish a center for cybersecurity information gathered by agencies of the federal government. It's a laudable initiative -- if it works. The Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center will, according to a White House fact sheet, connect the dots regarding malicious foreign cyberthreats to the nation and cyberincidents affecting U.S. national interests. It will provide U.S. policymakers with an all-source analysis of threats.

A team of open source evangelists is working within the General Services Administration as part of a federal initiative for more transparent government use of technology. 18F, a development unit within the GSA, was established a year ago to tap into the success of the United Kingdom's Government Digital Services unit by pursuing a similar strategy. The unit is tasked with getting developers from Silicon Valley and the ranks of civic developers all over the country to change how federal technology gets done.

Believe it or not, there’s an iPhone 6 in that pile of smartphones shown in the image above and we’re going to compare it to Samsung’s newly announced Galaxy S6. Which one would you prefer? More importantly, what are the major differences between these two devices? Well, let’s go ahead and find out…
Hey what’s up everyone this is Dom and today we’re comparing Samsung’s Galaxy S6 to Apple’s iPhone 6. These two devices are from completely different areas in the mobile space, but there are still some striking similarities between the two.
As far as design goes,...

President Obama has publicly criticized China’s plans to expand ‘security’ policies that would effectively prevent U.S. tech companies like Apple selling their products in China without completely compromising data security.Reuters reports that the Chinese government plans to require foreign tech companies to host in China all data servers used by their products, and to allow the government access to the data. As this would include iCloud backups, this would provide the Chinese government with complete access to all data stored on iPhones and iPads sold in China.In an interview with Reuters, Obama said he was concerned about Beijing’s plans for a far-reaching counterterrorism law that would require technology firms to hand over...

It’s impossible to truly know how you’ll take to a device until you live with it for a while. That might be true for all gadgets—including smartphones—but especially so with wearables, which might be strapped to your wrist or affixed to clothing all day and night. It might function, but is it comfortable? Fashionable? Spending a couple minutes with a demo unit at a store isn’t the same as donning it for a full workday, taking it to the gym, and sleeping in your own bed with it.
Finding the right wearable can be a pricey endeavor. I learned that tiny Fitbit trackers probably aren’t for me when I “lost” one for several months—and later found it safely nestled in a rarely worn pair of jeans. My wife similarly hasn’t taken to easily overlooked clip-on fitness trackers: she just wants something that’s relatively inconspicuous, but won’t be regularly forgotten on her nightstand. ...

However much you love your Mac, I’m willing to bet there’s at least one hardware feature you want to add to it—and quite possibly one or two that you wouldn’t mind losing. On my trusty old 2008 MacBook Pro, for example, I wish I had a second video-out port for hooking up a third display, and I could live without the Ethernet port. You might think picking and chosing your features like this is a pipe dream, but in a sense it’s not a million miles away from what Apple used to offer with its PowerBooks.When I got my PowerBook 1400c, it came with a (6×!) CD-ROM drive, which was obviously great for browsing CD-ROMs (Myst! Encarta! *cough* Duke Nukem!) and listening to music.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Monday March 2

Buzzfeed:Apple’s latest ad campaign, Shot on iPhone 6, is crowdsourced using iPhone photography from around the world. It is taking photos found online, typically seen in a browser window, and plastering them up in massive sizes out in the real world. Apple found them by scouring online communities for photos that were tagged as having been taken with its newest iPhones.Looks like keywording paid off for these folks.∞ Read this on The Loop

Apple doesn't attend things like CES or this week's Mobile World Congress, at least not in an official capacity, but the company has a knack for sucking the wind of their PR sails. On Monday, Apple launched the iPhone 6 World Gallery, a collection of beautiful photographs all taken with the iPhone 6. The beautiful shot below was taken by Renee M. using Camera, Instagram, and Flickr apps. There are dozens more in the World Gallery, and they're worth your time.

After launching its "Shot on iPhone 6" ad campaign on Sunday, works from Apple's "World Gallery" are now showing up on billboards, static ad spaces and in magazines in far flung locales around the globe.

Finally, learning and practicing a new language is easier and more intuitive than ever before. Introducing HelloTalk, the iOS and Android language app where your teachers are native language speakers from around the world. You just pick the language you want to learn — there are over 100 from which to select — and almost instantaneously you’ll be in touch with native speakers of that language… and you’ll start learning and practicing immediately. With HelloTalk, you’ll discover learning a new language is fun… and fast. Download your copy of HelloTalk today.

We have a great deal on Dragon Dictate 4 for the Mac from Nuance. these are the people Apple relies on for speech recognition in Siri-they're the best in the world at this stuff. Dragon Dictate 4 for the Mac retails for $200, but with our deal you can get it for half that, $99.99.

At a hearing on Monday, District Court Judge Lucy Koh appeared satisfied with a $415 million proposal from Apple, Google and two other Silicon Valley tech companies to settle allegations that anti-poaching agreements artificially capped employee wages.

Apple has encoded its home page to allow users to search the site with just a tab when using Safari or Omniweb. When you first load up apple.com and press tab, the search box opens, and your cursor jumps straight to it.

It's time to save some of your hard-earned money with our Daily Deals, featuring exclusive deals for AWT readers, hardware discounts and our own handpicked iOS and OS X sales. All prices are USD and subject to change. Please check prices before you purchase as some deals may expire quickly.

AWT's Daily Deals

WALTR [OS X; On sale for $20.07, down from $29.95] AppleWorld.Today is pleased to offer an exclusive deal on WALTR by Softorino. Instead of uploading the limited file formats that iPad/iPhone & iTunes is used to, Softorino engineered a technology that lets you upload and watch MKV, AVI, MP4 videos on your iOS device without having to convert the files before hand.

WALTR is available for US$29.95, but AWT readers can save 33% off the retail price when they use the promo code "GIVEMEMYAWTSPECIAL" during...

Are you going to be in or near London, England next Monday, March 9th? If the answer to that question is a big fat YES, then you must attend the London Mac User Group party to watch the Apple "Spring Forward" event.

The event starts at 5 PM at TigerTiger at Piccadilly CIrus, with room for about 160 Apple fans. There will be an RSVP fee of £5 when you sign up for the event on Meetup; that fee will be refunded to current LMUG members at the event.

March 2, 2015 2:42:00 PM PSTThe problem with Admin console should be resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better. March 2, 2015 2:06:00 PM PSTOur team is continuing to investigate this issue. We will provide an update by March 2, 2015 3:06:00 PM PST with more information about this problem. Thank you for your patience. March 2, 2015 1:08:00 PM PSTWe're investigating reports of an issue with Admin console. We will provide more information shortly.Affected users receive an error message when accessing the Billing page inside Admin console.

As part of its Shot on iPhone 6 campaign promoting iPhone photography, Apple is now hanging billboard advertisements around the world. The ads feature the photographs in full bleed with a simple ‘Shot on iPhone 6′ tagline. The posters are going up around the world, including some dramatic large billboards on the side of skyscrapers. Pictured above is one such poster (photo taken by Jimmy Grewal on Twitter) being setup on a skyscraper in Dubai.
In total, the campaign will showcase 77 different individual’s images spanning 24 countries. Users on Twitter have been posting sightings of these ads from all over the world …...

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You’re that much closer to OS X 10.10.3 and whatever Apple’s doing with its photo applications.
On Monday, Apple released the first public beta of its OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite update. The beta includes an iCloud-based Photos application, new emojis for the system and simpler login to Google accounts for profiles with two-factor authentication enabled.

This beta is labeled as build 14D87, which is the same as the second 10.10.3 beta for developers that was released a week ago. The Public Beta is available in the Mac App Store Software Update tab for registered beta users. Apple plans to release the first Public Beta of iOS 8.3 in mid-March,...

Our latest book, Michael Cohen’s “Take Control of PDFpen 7,” explains everything you can do with PDFpen 7 and its big brother, PDFpenPro 7, plus the mobile version, PDFpen for iPad & iPhone. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Samsung on Monday announced its much-anticipated Galaxy S6 line at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. In the S6, the strongly disliked plastic body of the Galaxy S5 is replaced with a combination of aluminum and Gorilla Glass. The Galaxy S6 and S6 edge both come in white, black and gold. Blue will be available only for the S6, while green will be available only for the S6 edge. The S6 and S6 edge are 6.8mm and 7mm thick respectively, and they weigh 4.8 and 4.6 ounces, respectively.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche and the CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Carlos Ghosn, have each adopted radically different stances on rumors of a so-called Apple Car, with the former dismissing the idea and the latter welcoming it as a boost to Renault-Nissan's business.

The Workflow Video Field Guide starts with a few, easy workflows and builds upon them over the course of an hour to turn you into a Workflow pro. By the time you get to the end, you’ll be able to roll your own workflows and change the way you work on your iPhone and iPad.I always like David Sparks’ work.∞ Read this on The Loop

People take incredible photos and videos on iPhone 6 every day. And here are some of our favorites. Explore the gallery, learn a few tips, and see what’s possible with the world’s most popular camera.A new page from Apple highlighting some great shots taken with the iPhone 6. These are quite impressive.∞ Read this on The Loop

This is a new project from the very talented Khoi Vinh. I think this is such a great idea and will make things much easier for a lot of people. You can get a deal after the 30-day trial by using code LOOP.∞ Read this on The Loop

There’s a healthy amount of story telling about the life of Steve Jobs due out this year. In October, we’ll get to see Aaron Sorkin’s take on the late Apple co-founder’s experience at Apple play out on the big screen when “Jobs” hits theaters.
Sooner than that, though, a new book from Brent Schlender & Rick Tetzeli entitled Becoming Steve Jobs (announced via Daring Fireball) will attempt to be different from all the other Jobs books.
Becoming Steve Jobs takes on and breaks down the existing myth and stereotypes about Steve Jobs. The conventional, one-dimensional view of Jobs is that he was half-genius, half-jerk from youth, an irascible and selfish leader who slighted friends and family alike. Becoming Steve Jobs answers the central question about the life and career of the Apple cofounder and CEO...

If you're not an Apple developer and you'd like to try the new Photos app for OS X before it launches, now's your chance. Apple has added the 10.10.3 update to its public beta program for OS X, and the update brings Photos (and a bunch of new emoji) along with it.
Photos is a Mac analog for the iOS app of the same name, and it's meant to replace iPhoto as the basic built-in photo app to serve most users' needs. It will also be replacing Aperture, which Apple will stop offering when the final version of Photos is released. Power users will find that it lacks...

With the retail launch of the Apple Watch fast approaching, tidbits on the development of the highly anticipated device continue to come to light, including the fact that former Adobe executive Kevin Lynch was responsible for software development.

Apple has always allowed customers to test over-ear headphones (Getty)
Apple will begin allowing prospective customers to test out in-ear headphones prior to purchase within Apple Stores, according to several employees. Due to sanitation concerns, Apple has been reluctant to allowing customers to try out in-ear headphones, but a new solution called Demo Kits will solve this problem. Beginning this week, when a customer is interested in purchasing in-ear headphones, an Apple Store employee will have the ability to create a custom Demo Kit that holds up to six different models of in-ear headphones. These kits will include a fresh pair ear tips and alcohol cleaning wipes so that the try on process is sanitary…
The customer will be...

Developers have been able to try out the beta version of OS X 10.10.3, and as of Monday the public can, too. Mac users who signed up to participate in the public beta program can download the latest prerelease build of the upcoming Mac OS update, and it includes a beta version of the iPhoto replacement app Photos, too.

The Mac Observer Spin: Don't forget beta means "not ready to ship," so there may be bugs and other surprises that cause app crashes and data loss. If you're planning on playing with the beta consider installing in on a Mac that isn't critical for your daily work.

It was only a matter of time before executives from various automakers responded to news that Apple is looking into developing its own electric vehicle. The first responses come from CEOs of Volkswagen, Daimler and Nissan during interviews at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and the Geneva car show this week. CNET reports that CEO of the Nissan-Renault Alliance Carlos Ghosn responded positively to questions regarding reports of Apple’s electric vehicle project: ”If Apple does it, obviously it’s good news for us,” said Ghosn. ”The fact that a company outside of the auto industry wants to do electric cars is refreshing.” Nissan currently offers its own electric vehicle with the...

Apple recently extended its trademark protection in Switzerland to include automobiles, but such filings are far from new and odds are that the company is working to cover its nascent CarPlay initiative, rather than the much-ballyhooed Apple Car.

Notable software releases this week include Fetch 5.7.5, Downcast 1.1.7, BusyCal 2.6.5, Logic Pro X 10.1.1, and VLC Media Player 2.2.0. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

In this week’s collection of ExtraBITS, Managing Editor Josh Centers made a couple of podcast appearances and Google teamed up with carriers for mobile payments. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Editor’s Note:This story was written by Steven Aquino and first appeared in The Loop Magazine Issue 31, which is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.My maternal grandmother died in 2007, about a month after Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone at Macworld Expo. Toward the end of her life, she suffered effects from dementia, a disease that robbed her of memories of herself and of her family. That her memory was getting progressively worse hit me hard, as my grandma was a seminal figure of my childhood. She effectively raised me, and it was painful for me to reconcile the person she was to the barely recognizable shell of herself she became....

Apple Pay has proven to be a venue of convenience for criminals focusing on identity fraud, a new report suggests, with many fraudsters taking advantage of lax customer verification controls put in place by Apple's partner banks to make brick-and-mortar purchases using stolen credit cards via the growing mobile payment service.

If you’re dying to get your hands on an early version of Photos for Mac, Apple just released the first public beta of Yosemite 10.10.3.
The brand new iCloud-based Photos app is 10.10.3’s biggest new feature, replacing both Aperture and iPhoto. The upgrade also includes the widely discussed diverse emojis and easier login for Google users with two-factor authentication turned on. To install the public beta, you need to be a registered beta user. Then click on over to the Mac App Store’s Updates icon, where the 10.10.3 beta will be ready to download.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung fired up its copiers to make the Galaxy S6 smartphone very iPhone 6-like. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss when and why Samsung copies Apple and other device makers, plus they dive into the news that Apple documents in Switzerland say the company is in the car business.

The mobile payment industry continues to see shakeups this week, as PayPal has announced it will acquire Paydiant, a mobile wallet developer with clients including MCX -- the consortium behind retailer-driven Apple Pay competitor CurrentC.

Apple today released the first Public Beta of the upcoming OS X Yosemite 10.10.3. The new release includes the iCloud-based Photos application for the Mac, new Emojis across the system, and simpler login to Google accounts for profiles with two-factor authentication enabled. This beta is labeled as build 14D87, which is the same as the second 10.10.3 beta for developers, which was released a week ago. The Public Beta is available in the Mac App Store Software Update tab for registered beta users. Apple plans to release the first Public Beta of iOS 8.3 in mid-March, according to sources. Thanks, DJ!...

Our editors all have their favorite wallet cases for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: Seth’s top pick is Pad & Quill’s Little Pocket Book, Ben’s fondest of Mujjo’s Leather Wallet Case, and up until now, my pick — based more on material quality than practicality — has been Twelve South’s BookBook. Each of these cases picks up where Apple Pay leaves off, carrying a handful of credit cards and a little cash for the (still numerous) times when wireless payments aren’t an option. But most of the cases haven’t properly balanced practicality and protection.
That’s where...

It's been a full month of Apple World Today's existence. Hooray! Steve, Kelly and I are fully into the swing of things, and that wouldn't be possible without our readers, our sponsors and especially our Patreon supporters. We're so very appreciative of our patrons. You are the folks who've decided to give us some of the money you work hard to earn so that we can do what we love to do. You people are fantastic, seriously.

As promised, we're publishing a big, public thank-you to everyone who pledged at the one-dollar level. Our gratitude to:

Hopeful would-be owners of the Apple Watch living outside of the US won't have to wait too long to get their hands on the latest Apple device. 9to5Mac spoke to some retail employees at the flagship Apple Store in Berlin last week and apparently confirmed that the Watch will launch in Germany in April. That seems to point to a wide international release during the first month of shipments.

Our take on the news: This follows Apple's recent distribution scheme for new products, which typically starts in the US, followed quickly by Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Apple has filed to expand protection of its brand name and logo to the automotive industry in Switzerland, ApfelBlog reports. Public filings made by Apple lawyers to Swiss regulators request protection of Apple’s trademarks to be used with multiple types of vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, golf carts, trains, planes and ships. Though not a major development, it’s another sign pointing to Apple’s rumored car plans; a recent report…

No Mac is an island, and it’s important to protect the network traffic flowing to and from your Mac. Luckily, a few simple precautions will prevent automated bots from sniffing your traffic for email addresses to spam, passwords to exploit, and credit card numbers to resell, among much else. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

In this week’s chapticle of “Take Control of Security for Mac Users,” Joe Kissell looks at the network connections between your Mac and the outside world and how you can prevent eavesdropping on your network traffic. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

For a limited time, we've teamed up with one of Apple's authorized resellers to give away $200 in accessories -- a free LG portable CD/DVD drive and free pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Pro headphones -- with the purchase of any build-to-order 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro. Readers can also pair this offer with an AppleCare rebate, which delivers the lowest price anywhere for these models with Apple's extended protection.

In addition to discussing the international Apple Watch launch and accessibility efforts at a briefing in Germany, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased “a whole ton of announcements coming shortly about all of the apps coming” for the Apple Watch, according to employees in attendance. Cook first highlighted the use of the Apple Watch in hotels by saying that “some of the best hotels in the world” will allow Apple Watch users to use the wearable to unlock room doors.
Additionally, Cook said that the Apple Watch hotel applications will even be able to replace the check-in processes for some hotels. “So people are beginning to think about doing not only cool things...

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It’s speculation until the media event in a week, but this could prove useful.
Apple might offer a low power mode on Apple Watch to help boost it through longer days, according to a new report that also takes a stab at dispelling rumors that the company may have elected to all some long-rumored sensors last minute.
With the exception of Pebble products, most current and upcoming smartwatches – including the Apple Watch – will last no more than a day on a single charge. To help mitigate this issue, Apple has reportedly developed a still unannounced software feature of the Apple Watch called Power Reserve. This mode is said to cut power to all non-...

Apple's US$800 billion market could grow to $3.4 trillion in the next five years, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, because every aspect of the iPhone and iPad maker's business is poised to expand even more. That growth will come because Apple is poised to be a bigger part of our daily lives with Apple Watch, Apple Car, and Apple TV.

The Mac Observer Spin: Here's the translation: If Apple makes it the money will come, no matter what the product may be.

Apple is bringing its Watch marketing blitz to China with a cover appearance and multi-page spread in East Touch, a lifestyle and street fashion magazine based in Hong Kong.

As noted by Hypebeast via MacRumors, the full-color editorial displays the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport on models in a variety of real-life settings. In recent weeks, the Apple Watch also has been spotted on the cover of Self magazine and in the pages of Vogue Paris.

Our take on the news:

Apple's Watch marketing continues its fashion focus as Apple courts a new type of customer with its watch wearable. The company will need this support from the...

journovampire writes with this interesting bit about the fallout of U2's partnership with Apple. "Remember U2's album giveway with Apple at the end of last summer? And how the world seemed to become very annoyed that its contents had been "pushed" to their devices without permission? Well, the naysayers might have been loud – but that hasn't stopped the stunt having a lasting effect on the band's popularity. That’s according to new research from retail insight experts Kantar in the US, which shows that nearly a quarter (24%) of all US music users on iOS devices in January listened to U2, nearly five months after Songs Of Innocence was released for free onto 500m iPhones across the world. In a survey of iOS users, Kantar found that more than twice the percentage of people listened to U2 in January than listened to the second-placed artist, Taylor Swift (11%)."...

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Your Apple Watch could one day start your car.
Which is pretty nifty.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told The Telegraph that when it ships, Apple Watch will let you filter messages, give you credits for meeting exercise goals, and accompany you in the shower. Cook also said the battery life will last all day and will take less time to charge than the iPhone using the new MagSafe-style wireless inductive charger. It’s unclear exactly how long the battery will last—recent reports indicate Apple is aiming for 19 hours of combined active and passive usage—or how long it will take to charge, though details are expected to be released soon.

Apple Watch Accessibility Settings
Apple told employees during a week at the flagship Berlin Apple Store in Germany that the company will increase its focus on product accessibility by putting executive Lisa Jackson in charge of the efforts, according to people in attendance. Asked by an Apple Store employee if the Apple Watch will include accessibility features, Cook reportedly replied:
Yes is the short answer. In every product we do, we want it to be accessible for everyone. This is not something that we sit around and figure out what the ROI is. I can give a rats what the ROI is. It’s one of those things that goes in the just and right column. So we want all of...

Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. Today's notable apps include PerfectReader Pro, Duet Display and the highly anticipated VLC for iOS update. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.

David Sparks, aka MacSparky, today released a new video Field Guide introducing users to the wonderful world of the Workflow app. Workflow allows you to automate items on your iPhone or iPad by connecting apps and actions. It's a powerful app that can be overwhelming for new users, which is where Macsparky's Workflow Field Guide steps in.

The video field guide walks you through the process of using Workflow, starting with basic workflows like resizing photos and sharing them with friends and family. By the end of the guide, you will be an expert at using many of the app's 200 available actions.

The Workflow Field Guide is available for $9.99 and includes a one-hour, fully bookmarked screencast. You can view a short sample of the guide below.

There are hundreds of external battery packs out there, and most of them are highly similar to one another: cosmetics aside, their capacities, features, and pricing tend to be predictable. Anker’s 2nd Gen Astro E7 ($80) is a complete outlier. It has the highest capacity of any external battery pack I’ve ever tested, yet it’s priced competitively with products that deliver half as much juice.
If you have an iPad or plan to carry your iPhone around without access to wall power, Astro E7 is as close to a must-have battery as I’ve seen. Delivered in efficiently designed, eco-friendly packaging, it quickly earned a place in my personal travel bag, for reasons I’ll explain below....

Apple hasn't made an official statement about whether or not it's designing a car, but a recent change to its corporate documents in Switzerland makes it clear the company has its eye on the automotive market. The document change says vehicles are part of its business operations, which all but screams "We're making a car."

The Mac Observer Spin: Apple is always on the hunt for the next market to disrupt, and its updated corporate description in Switzerland backs up our report that the company really is working on a car. Automotive industry, you've been put on notice.

Speaking at the Berlin flagship Apple Store last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees that the Apple Watch will not be exclusive to the United States in April, according to employees in attendance. Specifically, Cook said that the Apple Watch will launch in Germany during the month of April. It’s possible that the Apple Watch will launch first in the United States in early April, with Germany and other countries following later in the month, but it definitely appears that the Watch’s rollout will be more aggressive than the first iPhone and iPad launches…
The iPhone was notably exclusive to the United States and AT...

Apple and IBM today unveiled three new enterprise apps developed for iOS as part of their ongoing ‘IBM MobileFirst for iOS’ partnership. The new apps include Advisor Alerts, Passenger Care, and Dynamic Buy. The three apps, a combination of both iPhone and iPad software, join the original set of 10 announced last year and another new app recently announced bringing the collection of apps announced under the deal to 14 total across eight industries including retail, banking, and transportation.Advisor Alerts (shown above) joins a list of other banking and financial apps with both iPhone and iPad...

Managing Editor Josh Centers joined The Mac Show panel to discuss patent reform, the Apple Watch, the possibility of a new Apple TV, how much gold Apple is using for the Apple Watch Edition, public iOS betas, what’s coming in iOS 9, and the viability of Final Cut Pro X. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Apple today launched a new advertising campaign, "Shot on iPhone 6," to promote the camera on the company's latest iPhone handsets (Via iMore). As part of this campaign, the company debuted the new "World Gallery" compilation, which showcases iPhone photographs taken by 77 amateur and professional photographers from 74 cities and 24 countries around the world.

Apple will advertise the photographs at transit stops, on billboards and at other public locations in major cities worldwide, including Sydney, Beijing and San Francisco. The goal is not to promote each artist, but to inspire the average user to grab their iPhone and produce stunning photographs.

Managing Editor Josh Centers joined host Dan Benjamin on The Dan Benjamin Hour to discuss how much gold Apple may be using to produce Apple Watch Edition units. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Apple is building a mystery room off the side of the Yerba Buena Events Center in San Francisco ahead of its March 9 "Spring forward" media event. Apple did the same when it first showed off the Apple Watch last September, which means the room is most likely a demonstration area for the company's new smartwatch again.

The Mac Observer Spin: If Apple is setting up a demonstration area, it's a safe be Apple Watch is finally ready for proper hands-on time instead of the tightly controlled demos we had last September when the smartwatch was still in development.

A Microsoft product might not seem the most obvious purchase for Apple users, but if you switch between platforms, the latest version of Microsoft’s universal keyboard may appeal. Designed to allow you to switch easily between iOS, Android and Windows devices, the Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard is a more portable version, folding in half down the middle. (If you like a smaller vertical fold made for smartphones, Zagg makes an excellent product)

There’s no word yet on pricing or availability, but the original version retailed at $80 (and is available on...

Apple may be able to scale back its advertising budget for the Apple Watch: so far the device appears to be doing just fine in getting multi-page editorial coverage in the world’s fashion magazines. The latest fashion title to run a major feature on the watch is Hong Kong’s East Touch magazine, which is running a four-page spread.
The Apple Watch has so far been featured Vogue China, Vogue France, the USA’s Selfand the UK’s Style, as well as fashion titles in France...

Don't you just love big industry events like Mobile World Congress? I mean, you've had whole weeks to enjoy the new phone you got last quarter, and now you'll hear about a bunch of incredibly wonderful stuff that will make that new phone look like your grandmother's favorite car -- you know, the one she fell in love with in the 1960s.
Unfortunately, I'm not going to make things better. This week, I'm going to walk you through some of the more interesting things likely to be on display at the event.

Back in November of 2010, Apple released a minor software update to the then two-month old Apple TV 2, enabling VoiceOver and enhancing the overall accessibility of the device. As I noted in my initial review of the device, adding VoiceOver was a big advancement for accessibility in the home theatre landscape. Since then, projects like Plex Connect and VLC for iOS have taken advantage of Apple's universal access features to deliver all sorts of content to HDTVs with a surprising amount of accessibility. Apple has slowly but surely added new "official" channels to the Apple TV over the...

Tim Cook appears to be using his international tour, which so far includes Israel, Germany and the UK, to push a second product every bit as hard as the Apple Watch: privacy. In an interview with the German newspaper BILDposted yesterday (paywall), Cook went as far as to praise Edward Snowden for his role in prompting discussion of the issue.
If Snowden did anything for us at all, then it was to get us to talk more about these things. [Apple’s] values have always been the same.
The comments follow a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at which data privacy was reportedly a key topic. Cook also told the Telegraph...

At this point it’s pretty safe to say that no MOBA is going to dethrone Dota 2 and League of Legends anytime soon. After all, if Batman can’t do it, nobody can. However, with a genre as popular and profitable as this one, there’s still room for smaller games to carve out unique identities. Jurojin: Immortal Ninja opts for this path with its... | Read more »

Final February Fun at 148Apps
How do you know what apps are worth your time and money? Just look to the review team at 148Apps. We sort through the chaos and find the apps you’re looking for. The ones we love become Editor’s Choice, standing out above the many good apps and games with something just a little bit more to offer. Take a look at... | Read more »

GDC 2015 – Does Not Commute is Definitel...

GDC 2015 – Does Not Commute is Definitely a Game You Should Keep an Eye on
Posted by Rob Rich on March 2nd, 2015 [ permalink ]
We were teased about Mediocre Games’ (Smash Hit,
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F84 Games & POW! Announce Stan Lee V...

F84 Games has announced that it is working with legendary comic creator Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment to produce Stan Lee’s Hero Command. The game will be a action adventure of heroic proportions.
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Setlyst Keeps Your Set Straight So You C...

Setlyst Keeps Your Set Straight So You Can Focus On Rocking Out.
Posted by Jessica Fisher on March 2nd, 2015 [ permalink ]
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
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Space is Vast, So Space Agency Has a Vas...

Space is Vast, So Space Agency Has a Vast New Update!
Posted by Jessica Fisher on March 2nd, 2015 [ permalink ]
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
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Size DOES Matter Review

Size DOES Matter Review
By Campbell Bird on March 2nd, 2015
Our Rating: :: HARD TO BEATUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
This rhythm game has a unique control scheme and performance system that make it feel like a true innovation in the genre.
| Read more »

The first ever action 3D card battler Al...

On the other hand, you probably haven’t played an action 3D card battler – until now. Step forward, All Star Legion.
All Star Legion is a 3D QTE-based action RPG card battler, but fear not – the game itself isn’t as convoluted as its description.
You collect over thirty heroes to train and summon into battle with you, first deciding on the timing... | Read more »

Travel Back to the 1980s With the Making...

Headup Games has released a hilarious making of video for its upcoming title, Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic. The game is a RPG/Roguelike where you control three heroes set to save the township of Pixton from an evil cult called The Sons of Dawn. They’re going to summon up some ancient, terrible god so you had better work fast to thwart the cult’s... | Read more »

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